Mauritania: Economy

Mauritania remains among the world’s poorest countries, ranked 136th of 169 countries in the United Nations Human Development Index in 2010. In 2010, the Mauritanian economy grew by an estimated 4.7%, compared to a contraction of 1.2% in 2009, and GDP was an estimated $3.799 billion. Donors have pledged future support, with approximately 70% from non-Western sources, especially Arab states. Some 88% of the 2011 budget of 269 billion ouguiya (or $928 million) is to come from internally-generated revenue, which is up considerably thanks to more careful stewardship, and the remainder from donors. About 17% of the budget is devoted to national security; another 17% is slated for education, followed by transportation at 4%.

In a country that imports some 70% of its food, rising world prices for staple commodities could cause great hardship, especially for the urban poor. In rural areas, the harvest was quite good in 2011, but management of food stocks is frequently inadequate. Malnutrition is on the rise in some rural areas, including in the area affected by an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever in late 2010. Drought, disease, and locusts could destroy much of 2011's crops and livestock.

Demographically, Mauritania is young, with 70% of the population under the age of 29. Unemployment runs at 32%. The government has made recent efforts to support training in technical fields with a focus on youth. President Aziz campaigned as the “President of the Poor,” vowing to stop the rampant corruption and serious abuses that characterized the past 30 years of Mauritania’s history. Key infrastructure projects such as the Aftout es-Saheli pipeline to bring water from the Senegal River to Nouakchott, which came on line in October 2010, have accelerated under his leadership, as have efforts to interest international investors in iron and gold mining as well as petroleum and, to a lesser extent, wind and solar power.

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